Sister in Crime
by Ellethwen Celtica
Summary: Sly has a sister, but he doesn't know it. Selenay knows who she is but doesn't care for the fame. Carmelita is in the middle of this. ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

The door banged open with unnecessaty force and a grey raccoon bolted up the stairs, another door slamming shut momentarily. Behind her walked a young red fox with long, braided black hair. She was looking angry and disappointed.

An older red fox asked, "What did she steal this time, Carmelita?"

"Megan's ruby sunglasses." Carmelita told her father. He sighed. That coon was an embarrassment to the Fox name. At only seven years old, Carolina Arianna Fox was getting detentions almost every other day for stealing, had been expelled twice, and had more in school suspensions than anyone bothered to count. Inspector Luciano Fox had tried everything he could think of, to no avail. Carolina was stubborn, that was for sure.

Carmelita went upstairs to talk with the the thieving raccoon. She came back down within minutes. "The note says she'll be back before midnight."

"I'll be waiting for her," Luciano said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Carmelita, do you have homework?"

"Yes, father." She headed back upstairs. Luciano picked up the newspaper, though he was too exasperated to read a word._ Why now? _The girl had never had a problem before they'd moved. The only thing that had really changed is their location._ That, and her klepto problem. _What had happened?

Inspector Fox had to be honest with himself; he had always had half a thought that Carolina would be a thief. He had tried to stop it, but it seemed to be in her blood. _No, nothing seemingful about it. It is in her blood._

xxx

Sly Cooper, Bentley, and Murray were enjoying a nice afternoon in the park, trying out some of Bentley's new contraptions and generally having fun. Without any real plan, they wandered along until they came across a well dressed raccoon with unevenly cut hair and a red beret. She was laying on the grass and absently watching a family across the park. Sly gave an unfathomable look. "Anyone want to guess how much her clothes cost? I'm on a hundred and fifty, total. Wonder how much her mom is gonna scream when she comes home grass stained?"

"She'll probably just throw tham away and get new ones." said Murray. Bentley wisely did not say anything.

"I bet I could pick her pockets without her noticing."

"Sly, I don't thing that's a good idea. I mean..." Bentley tried, but Sly was already sneaking over to her. No one saw her eyes flick to him and then away. She casually got up. Sly stayed out of her sight, and winked at his buddies. He snuck up behind her...

The girl swung around and pushed him. He fell on the ground and sat there, stunned, long enough for her to run. She sent Bentley a hurt glance and disappeared into the and Murray ran over to Sly. "Anything hurt?" asked Murray.

"Just my pride. What did I do wrong?"

"You messed with the wrong person. That's the daughter of Inspector Fox."

xxx

Carolina waited until she was at the Haven, as she called it, to break down. She did not want to cry, so she raged. "Damn you, Bentley! You knew! I've always treated you as a friend! Betrayer! Damn you, Damn you! Damn Cooper!" She paced until all her rage had left her, and only a feeling of betrayel , Carolina sat on the floor. Dad was helping Cooper, and Cooper goes and tries to rob his daughter! Carolina pulled out a ragged piece of paper. On it was a copy of the only thing she had had since birth.

_In my despair of the loss of my father, I had found a unique ability that I wish for my decendants to learn. In order to vanish from plain sight, only imagine the worst possible memory that you can muster. Once this has been achieved, wish to disappear from the world and you shall vanish from sight_.

It had been only a scrap of papyrus, but Carolina treasured it more than anything, though she had never been able to make it work. Now though, Carolina had already done it, running from the park. Betrayel was a harsh feeling.

xxx

At 11:59 pm, Carolina snuck in her bedroom window. "Out stealing again?" Carmelita switched on a flashlight from her bed.

"No, so get off my tail." Carolina silently snuck under her covers. She didn't want to deal with her dad. Not tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry, the last chapter was missing some stuff. I fixed it, in case you just skipped over that one.

_Seven years later_

Selenay Alexandria Cooper, also known as Lucky, was reading the paper when there was a knock on the door of her apartment. Following that was ten quick raps that sounded like a woodpecker eating her door. "It's unlocked!"

A middle aged German Shepherd came in, closing the door behind him and sitting on the couch. Instead of looking at her, the Shepherd stared at the painting framed on the wall behind Selenay. It was of five people having a picnic, two adult foxes, one young fox, a kid turtle, and a little raccoon.

"Earth calling Constable Rudolf! Anything in that thick skull, send a message!" Selenay folded up the newspaper.

"My name is **Rodolfo**!" the dog growled.

"Why are you in my apartment at six in the morning?"

Rodolfo sighed. "There's been another theft. The _Mona TIgressa_ has been stolen and we were wondering if you knew the name of the thief."

"They say Sly Cooper's in town," said Selenay, absently picking up the newspaper again.

"Yes, they say that. But we have nothing to worry about, since neither of us are thieves, eh Selenay?" She eyed him for a minute. All the cops in town knew she played for both sides, but they had no way to prove it. "We know the better thief. You always know when Sly Cooper stole something, but the other suspect never leaves a trail."

"The other person never leaves a trail, but it seems the other person doesn't always make the catch, either. It is a matter of opinion on who the better thief is. Coopers in the line have a tendency to show off, anyway."

"And you?"

"I have the name, not the heredity. The title of Cooper Thief goes to the oldest son, of in the case of all girls, oldest daughter. Either way, my dad was a younger brother, so I would never be a Cooper thief or get the Thevius Raccoonus." This was true; the person she thought of as dad was a younger brother.

"So you don't know who took the _Mona Tigressa_?"

"I swear on my grandmother's grave I don't know who took it out of the museum."

"All right then, Selenay, I take my leave." Rodolfo stood up and walked out.

Selenay put some oatmeal in the microwave and changed into her work clothes. _School janitor by day, thief ringleader by night, what a strange schedule. I need to get food tonight._ Her lifestyle reflected that of on living on a janitor's income, from her tiny apartment to her secondhand clothes. What they made off selling stolen items went to her group, barely any of it came to her, and she preferred it that way.

Her janitor routine was simple: come in before all the kids arrived and clean, go home and sleep for four hours until lunch, clean the lunchroom, stick around for an hour until the kids left, and clean again. When she got home it was usually four-thirty or so.

Selenay got some instant oatmeal before coming home. She didn't get a paycheck until Friday, two days from now. At the apartment, Selenay put the oatmeal on the counter, and then switched on her laptop.

_All right peeps,_

_Whoever it was who misplaced the Mo Tig needs to put it back where it belongs. That is not something that should have been touched. I probably won't be at the meeting tonight. Snickers is in charge._

_Lucky_

She sent this to everyone in the ring. Then she turned off the laptop and put it back in her quick escape bag. Selenay set her alarm for nine p.m. and went back to bed.

xxx

Selenay woke up to someone knocking on the door. _Have I overslept?_ she thought. _No, I'm not going to the meeting tonight._ She looked at the clock. Six p.m. "Go home, terrorist!" she yelled as she pulled a dark blue dress on. If it were someone from the ring, they would answer correctly.

"Terrorist? I'm no terrorist." _Wrong answer._ Not knowing who to expect, Selenay opened the door. Standing outside was a raccoon who had made life hard for her since they'd first met.

"Sly Cooper."

"Selenay Cooper, I presume. May I come in?"

"Be my guest." Sly came in and sat on the couch, exactly where Rodolfo had earlier in the day. He was lightly perched on the edge, ready to move at a moment's notice. Selenay locked the door behind him and opened the window. "I would offer you something, but the only thing in my kitchen is instant oatmeal." Selenay sat down in her normal chair under the painting.

"I'd like to ask you some questions."

"Well, don't wait for a written invitation."

"Do you know the Fiendish Five?"

"Not personally."

"But do you know who they are? Where they're at? Do you know what they've done and what they're up to now?"

"I know their names, where some of them are, a few of the things they've done, and what a couple of them are up to. The closest one to where we're at is Sir Raleigh the Frog."

Someone pounded on the door. "Cooper! Open up, now!" It was the unmistakable voice of Carmelita Fox, now a cop for real. Sly snuck out the window as Selenay unlocked the door.

Carmelita burst in, shock pistol in front. "Where is he?" she demanded.

"Where is who?" Selenay casually picked up her quick escape bag.

"Sly Cooper! I know he's been here! We spotted him on camera!"

"Oh…he's gone now. He just wanted some answers."

"You knew! You knew Cooper's an international thief and you did nothing! Cooper, you are under arrest for harboring a criminal!" Carmelita pointed her gun at Selenay.

"Catch me if you can." Selenay's voice was deadly angry as she disappeared.

"I'll get you! Both of you!" Carmelita screamed. Then, her voice under control, "Rodolfo, we lost them both."

"I'm sending people in. Stay put and don't touch anything."

xxx

Selenay was still invisible when she came to a house on the outskirts of Paris. She flickered back and knocked on the door. "Who comes to my home?" said a voice from inside.

"An orange seller." Selenay replied.

The door opened. "And what would you have for me today?" Selenay gave him the chocolate orange.

"I need a plane out of the country."

"I was going to take a vacation to the United States, but it seems you need this more than I." the person gave her a ticket and a passport. Both were filled out with her information, under the name Alexandria Coopenski.

"Thank you."

"You gave me an orange. No thanks needed."


	3. Chapter 3

Even though Selenay was wanted (someone had ratted her out after she left), she couldn't help but enjoy being back in the US. She was in her safe haven. And she was going to stay there as long as possible.

Being wanted for stealing and harboring a criminal was not the reason Selenay moved. Under any other name, she'd have been fine with going to jail. However, once her name got into the papers, people would see "Cooper," and they would start to think, "Hey, maybe the local and the famous one are related." Rumors would fly, birth records would be checked, and she would be dead. Both Sly and Clockwerk would know, and she would have an extremely hard time staying alive in a jail cell. Selenay wasn't particularly fond of seeing the Contessa, either, which is where Carmelita would push to put her if she was caught.

Selenay looked around, and seeing no one, she dropped into the sewers. She made a face as the smell hit her, but Kansas City sewers on the Missouri side smelled way better than Kansas City on the Kansas side. Selenay walked on the pathway until she saw the hook in the ceiling. She took out a hook of her own, and swung across. Once she landed, she walked straight to the wall in front of her, and banged her head on it.

Part of the wall slid down to reveal a keypad. "What is the password?" a voice nearly whispered. Selenay typed in TNKID and hit enter. The wall slid sideways and Selenay walked into the next room. The wall closed behind her. A blue laser started to scan her, "State your name," the whisper said again.

"Selenay Alexandria Cooper." There was a beep and a click, and Selenay opened the door in front of her. A light came on in the next room. She was home.

Selenay had returned to the place she had found as a kid. She was surprised that it was exactly as she had left it, seven years ago, when she was twelve. Her birth records were still in the top drawer of the desk in the office. _First things I ever stole without getting caught_. Her diary was lying open on her pillow next to a library book. That would have to be a heck of a fine, seven years overdue.

Selenay glanced over her diary.

_October 31__st_

_I have to leave quickly. Carmel told the cops where I am. I won't let them take me to that dumb orphanage. I can take care of myself and I don't want anyone else to try._

_Today is my real birthday. Funny, how I both came to and left this place on my birthday. We used to celebrate it three weeks earlier._

_Selenay Cooper_

_Formerly Carolina Fox_

October 31st, the day she died and was reborn. Carolina Fox had ceased to exist while Selenay Cooper had come back. Now it was Alexandria Coopenski.

Selenay set up her laptop on the desk. The Haven even had wireless internet. She had four new emails.

_Lucky,_

_The Mo Tig is where it belongs. The orange has been split and we have followed orders. I am sorry for your loss. Please remember that I am a mouse, not a rat, and that owls are nocturnal._

_Snickers_

This one was a play on words. In a thief ring, it was best to leave it so no one knew what you mean. Snickers wasn't the one who gave her to the police. He still followed her directions. He was also giving her a warning.

_Carrie,_

_Wherever you are, you are in trouble with me. I am going to try and catch you all, but I do hope you aren't running with the Cooper gang. They are going to the Contessa upon capture (not my orders) and I know how much you hated your therapists as a kid._

_Carmel_

Selenay deleted that one.

_Lucky,_

_Thanks for the orange. Remember that two of the Bobs are RATS. Hoe you are well._

_Bob _

She deleted that one, too. There were seven Bobs in the ring and she was no longer a part of it. Bobs were just probationary thieves.

_Selenay,_

_Do you get the newspaper? If you don't, the big story is that Carmelita Fox has jailed Sir Raleigh the Frog. He said something about Muggshot's_ _in the paper. Do you know what he meant?_

_Bentley_

Selenay frowned in thought. Bentley would never spell mug shots wrong unless there was a good reason for it. Selenay opened a new tab on the internet and typed in . A dark blue screen with password, name, and sponsor boxes came up. In these Selenay typed carriecarmel, thin-air, and Black_Baron. She clicked enter and the Thief Net homepage came up, with current news, new members, things to sell and buy, and all the other stuff. On the search bar Selenay typed Muggshot, and hit the search button.

**Muggshot**

**howlin_gunner**

**Age: thirty-four**

**Muggshot is a gangster. He is currently in Mesa City and has taken it over. He has an array of other gan...**

Selenay clicked on the link and read the whole thing before going back to her email and replying to Bentley's email.

_Bentley,_

_I think it would be wise to take a working vacation to Mesa City. If you do, watch out for gangsters. Their leader used to be the runt of the litter, but he is now bigger than anyone and he's a real bulldog. I think you would also like to use mug shots for your research project._

_Selenay _

Selenay sent the email and logged off. She needed to get supplies if she wanted to live in this place. She unplugged the laptop and left the secret apartment to its own devices.

**A/N: So how do you like it? Also, can someone explain beta readers to me? I don't want to ask for one without knowing exactly how this stuff works.**

**Updates may be coming slower, because the internet is hating me and customer service doesn't speak to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took so long! I thought I'd already put it up! Guess not.**

* * *

Selenay walked out of the store and was nearly run over by an eagog (eagle-dog). "Hey!" she exclaimed. "Watch where you are walking!"

The eagog turned around. He had the body and the head of a pit bull, but then there were golden eagle wings attached to his arms. Selenay wondered if he could fly. The eagog wore cargo shorts and no shirt, and he was at least two heads taller than she was, if not more. "You talking to me?"

Trying not to look scared, Selenay said, "Yeah, I am talking to _vous_. Nearly ran over me, you did, monsieur!"

The eagog broke into a huge grin, and it took all of Selenay's willpower not to flinch. "Hah! I think I like you, kid. What's your name?"

"Alexandria."

"Pleasure to meet you, Alex. You French?"

"Oui. I am."

" Well then, Alex French, I am Robert. Most people call me Bob." Then, almost to himself he said, "If they ever bother to catch my name."

"It is nice to meet you, Bob."

"So, Alex French, what are you doing?"

"Are you going to try and stalk me?" Selenay asked jokingly.

Bob looked offended. "I am _not_ a stalker. I am a good citizen, just like any smaller creatures. Just because I am big does not mean I am bad."

"Je suis désolé. I was simply joking, mon ami."

"You already consider me a friend? You don't know anything about me; I am a total stranger to you. Or are you joking again?"

"Non, sirrah. Everyone must open the circle sometimes, non?"

"I guess so. Do you listen to American music? Like rock?"

"Oui."

"Do you like Aerosmith?"

"Is that the band of wolves with a cat singer?"

"Yep."

"Oui, I like them."

"You know, you still haven't told me what you are doing."

"I am running errands."

"Sounds like not a lot of fun."

"Non, but it must be done, because I am out of food." Selenay casually glanced at her watch. "Speaking of which, I must get going before the store closes."

This instantly brought Bob down, though he only showed the tiniest hint of it. "Hey, do you like baseball? There's a game in a couple of days at the park. It's nothing special, just my little brother's team, but since it's Sunday, most people will be coming."

"I will see if I can come, but I am not promising anything."

"Okay, great! See you then, Alex French!" Bob bounded off. _That guy has got to be a lonely lonesome loner,_ Selenay thought.

Selenay got the rest of the stuff on her shopping list and went back to her underground apartment. She got to work putting food in the refrigerator, then took out some grapes. She ate about half of them, then put the rest in the fridge. All this time she was deep in thought, though not about anything specific.

She took the clothes she bought, mainly shorts and t-shirts, and folded them, then put them in her drawers. Selenay flopped on her bed, allowing her mind to drift.

_I don't know what I'm doing. It's weird to be giving advice and help to an international thief. Even if he is my damn brother. This is crazy._

_And yet, I want to get to know him. Wouldn't it be great if we were just one happy family? Carmie, Sly, and me. Of course, that's not going to happen. Carmie only wants to put Cooper in jail, Sly doesn't know hardly anything, of course, I plan on keeping it that way, Carmie and I are on bad terms, being on opposing sides of the law. She always was Daddy's little girl._

_Now there's Bob. I really hope I don't get him involved in this. Crazy. That guy has a little brother. I wouldn't risk anyone I didn't have to if I could._

_I miss Dad._

xxx

Selenay had fifteen minutes, so she wasn't in a hurry. She ambled toward the park, noticing that several others were headed in the same direction. They all got there just as the game was starting. Selenay sat down on a bleacher and watched as an eagog came up to the plate. "That's my brother, Billy."

Selenay jumped. "Don't sneak up on me!" she said in a voice just below a yelp.

"I wasn't sneaking," said Bob, focusing mainly on the game.

Looking at the two, Bob and Billy didn't look very much alike. Billy didn't have wings, for one; he had the body of a pit, but the only thing golden eagle about him was his head. It was a strange combination, but who was she to judge? Everybody looked weird these days, compared to the people of a hundred years ago and before.

Billy hit a single and the next kid, a roxoon, (fox-raccoon) stepped up. "That's Rick Cunninson." He struck out.

And so it went throughout the game. Billy's team won. When Bob went down to congratulate the team, Selenay slipped away.

She hadn't planned on ditching; there was someone in the crowd who had caught her eye and immediately took out her cell phone. Selenay recognized her as Megan Nestle, a chickadee from her class, a long time ago. Apparently, Megan recognized her, too. Maybe. Selenay was suspicious by nature.

Selenay turned out to be correct, as police pulled up just after she ducked into an alleyway. Growling, Selenay disappeared toward home.

xxx

_thin-air,_

_Hacker-Cracker has sent you a message. To see, __click here._

_This is an automated email. Do not reply to this email. If you wish to reply to Hacker-Cracker, __click here._

Selenay absently clicked on the link to the message. It brought up the login to thiefnet, and she signed in. The message read:

_Hello Cooper,_

_If I were you, I would stop giving advice to your little mates right now. You are only endangering yourself, because the Five _will_ come after you. Everyone knows who you are, and many are constantly watching you. We might not call the police, but justice will be served if a thief sells confidants down the river._

_Sincerely,_

_H-C_

* * *

**This seemed short.**

**And things start happening. I will try to get the ball rolling quicker, now that it is summer break and I am only working on four stories instead of five.**

**Thanks everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Spotlights! Security cameras! Action!**

_I always knew I was paranoid at heart. Still, rule #40 is 'If you think they're out to get you, they are.'_ Selenay had stayed underground for the last few days. She tried to convince herself that it was only because she had caught a cold, but she only ended up being convinced that she was a terrible actress.

Selenay had started to decorate the apartment. She painted flowers. She tacked posters. There was nothing in sight to suggest that she was doing anything illegal, except the fact that the front door opened up to a sewer. This was not a place she would invite friends for dinner.

Unless, of course, these friends were thieves who invited themselves.

"A sewer, Cooper? I'd've thought you would do better than that." That one was a rather irritating feline. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she washed dishes. He didn't seem to actually stand; rather, he draped himself on space.

She smirked at the dishes. "Beggars can't be choosers, Kitty. If you aren't careful, you may end up as a sewer rat yourself."

'Kitty' bared his teeth in a threatening scowl. "I eat rats for breakfast, _Cooper_. I'll usually leave raccoons alone, but if they're puny sometimes I'll hunt them for sport."

She glanced at the other guy. He was a white fox, and strong for what he looked. At the moment he was wrapping a bandage around a cut that ran the length of his forearm. _Serves you right,_ she thought looking back at the dishes.

"Is there something you want, Pretty Kitty?" Drying off the last dish, Selenay put it in its place and sat down in a chair.

Ignoring the insult, the feline said, "Yeah, Squirt. We're doing an triennial clean-out of thiefnet."

The fox continued. "We aren't going to have any third-raters, especially third-rater _spies,_ abusing the privilege to be a part of this. So, you're going to prove that you're worth your salt."

"And…what happens if I don't?"

"Then there'll be one less sewer rat, idiot," the cat said. "You've been exposed…you prove you're worthy, or you prove you're dead."

xxx

_This is insane, this is insane, this is totally whacked out to Mars!_ Selenay looked up at the giant castle. It _looked_ old and abandoned, but she knew it had some seriously tech protection, along with the original booby traps, Halls of Spears, Thieves' Curses, and who knows what else.

That was the typical part. The insane part was that she was going in with no preparations, no floor plans, and the most basic equipment. Rope, slingshot, smoke bombs, gloves, lock picks, and a knife. Possibly also luck. She had no idea what the inside looked like, what problems there might be, or where the amulet was supposed to reside.

_This game is totally rigged_.

Selenay quickly scaled the wall, and managed to evade the briars and prickly vines that reached out to grab her. Once inside the perimeters, Selenay could see several roaming cameras, all timed so no spot was left undetected for a moment. She was behind a tree and a clump of bushes, luckily, but there were also guards roaming the grounds in irregular time, searching all plants, nooks, and crannies.

_Screw this._ Selenay took out the slingshot and picked up a rock. Aiming at one of the cameras, she timed her swing to hit the 'eye' just as it pointed at her. She ran across to the wall in the few seconds she wouldn't be seen and started to climb the side of the castle. A third of the way up, she stopped to sit on a spear protruding from the wall and plan her next move.

_All the windows are barred or too small to crawl through, door's are all bolted shut, including the Door to Hell…Maybe there's a vent on the roof, but there are guards up there too._ She looked around again. Then she climbed up to one of the dark windows. Acid had burned some of the rods to disconnection from the wall. She pulled on them, yanking and twisting. After a few moments, they came loose. Selenay lost her balance and pinwheeled for several terrifying moments before catching her glove on a piece of rod and regaining her balance. She stood there a moment to steady her nerves, then slipped inside.

It was a bedroom. Selenay quickly searched it and found nothing. Looking up and down the hallway outside she saw no cameras, but in the torchlight she did see that the floor was patterned with a green flower every four stones. The walls had two wooden strips on each side that were a quarter inch apart and ran the whole length of the hall. Praying to the God of Thieves, Selenay jumped onto the nearest green-flower tile. Nothing happened.

She sighed in relief and jumped two more tiles to the next room. She searched it and found nothing. This continued for a while, until she jumped for a tile…

And noticed the flower was red. She quickly repositioned herself and landed on the next green flower in a handstand. It was a wobbly handstand, and she got back on her feet quickly. Out of curiosity, (never good for a thief) Selenay took a bracelet off of her wrist and gently tossed it onto the red flower tile.

Spinning sawblades started to come out of the walls, beginning from the tile and moving outwards in both directions. Abandoning the tile hop, Selenay ran through the hallway and up a set of stairs, blades following her even then. At the top she slipped inside a room and slammed the door. She leaned against it, catching her breath in the dark room.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Selenay realized she was in a trophy room. This was a room that looked modern, with glass covering the different things in the room. There, in the exact center of the room, was the amulet she was looking for.

She didn't move at all, instead carefully examined everything where she was. There were no detectors on any of the glass cases, she saw, and no security cameras. _It can't be this easy. There's a trick somewhere._ Selenay slowly reached for a smoke bomb. Wick first, she held the bomb and moved it outward.

It caught flame immediately, and as it smoked, small laser beams became visible. _Ah-ha!_ Using the smoke bomb as a guide, Selenay avoided the lasers and seized the amulet.

Selenay was almost home free when the police showed up. Yelling in what she assumed was German, they chased after her, firing their guns. A bullet whizzed by her and she leaped into a clump of bushes, then almost immediately crawled back out. In a shadow, Selenay stayed completely still and summoned a bad memory. The police searched for a while, but they could find no trace of her.

**And...short. But it is being updated, unlike anything else. Please review, I like to know people are reading and thinking.**

**fanfictioncreator01: Oui, I would agree with you, but I think that for some of those songs you would need a _meeeeeoooooow _instead of a _hoooooowwwwwwl_. For example: Nobody's Fault, Dream On.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Rogue147: You are quite correct. Good eye. I'd have never noticed it if I was the reader instead of the author. Hats to you.**

Selenay woke up in a room of mirrors. It was rather disconcerting. Not knowing what to do, she tried to remember what had happened.

_She was almost home free when the police showed up. Yelling in what she assumed was German, they chased after her, firing their guns. A bullet whizzed by her as she jumped into a clump of bushes, then almost immediately got out again. In a shadow, Selenay stood still and turned herself invisible. The police looked for a while, but could not find her…_Then what?

_**What's the matter, Cooper? Can't you remember what happened?**_ Selenay wasn't sure if the voice was aloud or in her head. _**No? That's just too bad. I suppose you'll just have to stay here until you do. And Cooper? Don't try to fake it. You'll be stuck for a rather long time.**_

_That voice sounds…vaguely familiar. I wonder why?_ Selenay stared at the mirror in front of her. The reflection stared back. _Who are you?_ It mouthed.

Selenay jerked back. Her reflection did not. It slowly changed…into Sly. _Who are you?_ the reflection mouthed again. Selenay jumped upward and backward. She turned to a different mirror. This one had Carmelita in it. She smiled and mouthed, _What are you doing, Carrie? You're acting so silly._

Selenay gave her an expression of surprise. Carmelita frowned. _You aren't old enough to be doing these kinds of things, Carrie. You should be in school, learning _normal_ things. Growing up like your brother…it's breaking my heart._ Selenay's expression turned to shock. _Here, Carrie. I have the feeling that you're going to need this soon._ The reflection of Carmelita tossed her shock pistol at Selenay. Out of instinct, she reached to catch it. When she remembered that it was just a mirror, Selenay dropped her hand, and then realized that the gun was actually there, resting casually between her fingers.

Selenay shot at a mirror. Instead of exploding into a million little pieces, the mirror caused the shock bullet to ricochet, bouncing around the room and gaining momentum and power. Selenay tried to watch it, but it hit her anyway. "Owwwww."

xxx

Selenay wasn't sure how long she was in Mirrorworld, as she had begun to call it, when her reflections started to act up again. One that looked like her came up with a tray of food and slid it toward her. It stopped an inch away from her. Selenay groaned and sat up. The food _looked_ all right, but Selenay wasn't sure it wasn't poisoned. She sniffed it, but it didn't smell funny. Well, the salad smelled like tomatoes even though there was none, but that wasn't _that_ strange.

_Wait a second…tomatoes are poisonous except for the fruit!_ Selenay dropped her fork with the salad on it. Untrusting toward the rest of the food, she pushed it away.

**_Very good, Cooper. Very good. There's no need for you to starve, only the salad has been laced with tomato leaves. You may be young, but a young genius in the making._**

"So _glad_ I live up to your standards," Selenay growled.

_**There's no need to be fussy. Here, I'll show myself to you.**_ A mirror in front of her shimmered, and an image of Bentley appeared. To the mirrors left and right were Carmelita and Miz Ruby. In every mirror was someone different, yet someone she knew.

"Okay, now which one are you?" Selenay said, spinning around to face as many as possible.

_**That's for me to know, and you to find out.**_ Only one mouth moved, but it was in the corner of her eye, and when she turned, all she saw was a reflection of herself.

"Screw this," Selenay muttered, and threw herself at the mirror in a cop-breaks-down-door movement. The mirror flipped over, sending her crashing into a wall and then dropping down a hole. She yelled, first in surprise and then in fear as she saw a pit of spikes rushing up at her.

Selenay pushed her hands and feet against the walls, stopping about an inch above the tallest spike. Unconsciously, her breathing shallowed, keeping her stomach from touching the spike. Slowly and carefully, Selenay moved her right hand from the wall to grip the spike. Shifting her weight to that hand, she moved her other hand to the spike and slid down.

_Great job, kiddo. You took yourself from a room full of messed up mirrors into a pit of spikes._ She held on to the shock pistol as she walked through the pit. Occasionally she would wonder at the lack of dead things in the pit. There were no bodies, no blood, and no bones. _This isn't right. There should be something gross in here._

Selenay walked all around the pit. It was spotless. _O-kay. There's got to be something that I'm missing. Hmmm. Maybe I'm forgetting Rule #8. Never take anything for granted._ She laughed at herself. _I watch _way_ too much NCIS._ She sighed and leaned against a spike.

Then she fell through it. "Hologram!" With a sudden idea, Selenay aimed the gun at the base of the 'spike' and shot. Electricity crackled as it lit up a grid on the floor and fried a bunch of holographic projectors. It was another room, with an elevator shaft in the center.

She walked to the door facing the elevator and tried to open it. _Locked, of course._ She looked at it carefully, and then shoved it. It was made of wood, but she guessed it to be two separate pieces connected instead of a single hunk of log. _More cop training. If Carmel ever decided to go to the 'dark side', I bet she'd be great at it. Just as long as she did the punching and breaking part, and not the actual delicate things._ Selenay slammed her foot down on the door right next to the doorknob. It created a long crack. Once more, and she had an entrance.

"This is getting rather boring," she said to no one. "If something's going to happen, it needs to happen now, and not once I bust out of this place."

Selenay grinned as a siren went off. "This is more like it!" she yelled, running through the hallways as guards started coming from every direction. She could hear her father in her head, saying, _Now Selenay, you have this whole adrenaline junkie thing, and it just isn't healthy. What's going to happen when you get older is that you're going to need bigger rushes, and it will get you into a lot of trouble._

Selenay smiled at the memory and crashed through a window.

**Short! It seemed longer when I wrote it!**

**Thanks to all who read and review! It lets me know when my writing gets totally awful and when it's starting to improve!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yes, yes, I know it's too short. However, I have rewritten this bloody chapter about five different times and I decided that I just needed to update before two more months pass. And if it stinks, feel free to tell me so.**

**meme-I don't know. What do you think?**

**Shadowcat- Thanks for getting my brain into motion.**

* * *

Selenay collapsed on the side of a grassy hill, relaxing behind the low branches of a Weeping Willow. She sighed as she thought about what she was going to do next. _I've got the clothes on my back and a tazer. And I haven't seen one bloody house for four days._ Various ideas, each crazier than the one previous, drifted through her head as she fell asleep between the willow roots.

It seemed as though she had just closed her eyes when she was awakened by nearby voices. "Are you nuts?" one voice said. "There's no way they'd fall for that!"

"It was just a suggestion, and anyway, how would you know?"

"_Because,_ idiot, _I_ wouldn't even fall for that."

"But they're just kids. They don't know anything."

"Uh-huh. That's why they managed to outdo some of the most talented in the business. Totally do not know anything." Silently, Selenay slithered over to the curtain of leaves, trying to get a look at these people and a sense of what they were talking about.

It was two mice, one tiny girl and one larger (though still small) man. "Quiet," the man said. "I sense something here."

"Well, then, let's get on," the girl said, and they casually walked away.

Selenay was torn between following them and staying hidden until they left. If they had already sensed her here, what would they do if they caught her following them?

She was saved a decision as a bat and a dog came around the bend, both wearing police uniforms. "Damn it! Why must they all disappear once we're on the verge of catching them?" the bat said, irritated.

"Because," the dog said, and Selenay smirked. It was Rodolfo. "Unlike the idiot bat who calls himself my partner, _they_ do not want to spend all of their time in jail."

The bat squeaked indignantly, but apparently hadn't known Rodolfo long enough to wittily banter with him. Selenay decided to help him out. "Takes one to know one, doesn't it, Rudolf?"

"COOPER!" Rodolfo yelled, whipping out his shock pistol. Selenay copied his movement before realizing that probably wasn't the smartest idea. They glared at each other, and then Selenay grinned cheekily.

"Morning! Having fun chasing rodents?"

"I…you are under arrest, Cooper!"

"Do all cops say the same things? Cause you sound like _exactly_ my sister." her grin widened as his frown deepened.

"Err…should I be recording this?" The bat asked.

Selenay's grin grew even wider. "How long have you had a new partner?"

"A year, more or less."

Her grin quickly turned to a confused frown. "But…that would mean that you had a partner when I last saw you, and you didn't tell me."

Now Rodolfo was equally confused. "No, he was assigned shortly after you left France."

Selenay grimaced, then grinned again. "I'll put my gun down if you put your gun down and your mascot does the same." Completely ignoring the "Hey!" of protest, she raised an eyebrow and Rodolfo nodded almost imperceptively. They both set their firearms on the grass in front of them, and after a moment's hesitation, the trainee did the same.

"This is against conduct," he said.

"_Cooper's_ against conduct," Rodolfo said.

Selenay cheerfully lowered herself into a cross-legged sitting position. "What's your name, kid?" she asked of the bat.

He made a slightly irritated look before answering. "Draco Granger."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Cool. I'm Selenay Cooper, in case Rodolfo hasn't mentioned me."

Draco turned his head slightly away from Rodolfo in order to hide a smirk. _Ah, I see,_ Selenay thought. _You have humor, but you're afraid to admit it. And you're a newbie conduct follower. None that I love more, but I'll leave you alone...for now._

"So, Rudolf, what's been happening? Since I apparently have no sense of time whatsoever."

"Your relative in the business has been leading the inspector across the world, did you know? England, US, China…"

"Hey, Batman, sit down! I don't bite…hard," Selenay said, half joking. Strangely, it made the young man look even more apprehensive. He stayed where he stood. Selenay gave the tiniest of shrugs and asked, "So…how's the inspector?"

Rodolfo gave a wolfish grin but said, "I don't talk about my colleagues. _Especially_ to criminals."

"How about to a sister?"

He hesitated, and Draco yelled, "Duck!" Selenay instinctively rolled to the side, and Draco tackled Rodolfo. Two bullets whizzed by their heads. Draco had his gun and was now firing back at the unknown enemy.

"Did you have any part of this?" Rodolfo growled as he and Selenay scrambled for their guns.

"No sir!" She grabbed his gun and tossed it to him. A strangled cry rose up in the distance, and the two policemen went toward it, Selenay following after snatching up her gun. Another bullet flew by and Selenay shot back without any conscious thought.

They came upon a couple of ferrets, one bleeding from the rib area and the other merely stunned. Rodolfo called an ambulance as Draco and Selenay took care of the ferrets. When the ambulance, along with several police cars, showed up, Selenay took her leave.


	8. Chapter 8

**It's been two years. I really have no excuse. I apologize, and offer you this chapter.**

Selenay wondered where she was going to go next. She couldn't very well team up with Rudolf and his batty mascot, nor could she abandon this curious incident with the ferrets. And it wasn't feasible for her to go back to her hideout in the States, where Pretty Kitty and his wolf buddy were likely hiding in wait for her.

Bugger.

There was nothing for it. She was going to have to break into the police office.

How does one do that, exactly?

Hm, she'd need to scout out the place first, which meant she'd need some binoculars, which in turn meant she needed money. That shouldn't take more than a couple days, and then she'd break in as soon as she could. She wondered if there were any cops who liked fresh air. When they opened their window, she could fix the lock so that it would stick, enabling her to get in and proceed from there. Selenay estimated that it would take about three days. Good, that should give Rudolf a little time to relax, think that she'd skipped town again.

She'd need a disguise, she realized. Raccoons were pretty suspicious characters as it were, and it never helped that a certain family of raccoons were always stealing from the famous and powerful. However, gray and black fur was very hard to dye. She'd have to bleach it first, unless she wanted all black. What would be a good type to impersonate?

She walked through the town, keeping her head down and pickpocketing fellow passerby. She looked for a salon who sold do-it-yourself fur dyes, and she reached an area where people moved to the sides of the streets quickly. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she also moved and looked up. As she saw the nervous young man who walked quickly along, apologizing to everyone as he passed, she realized what the perfect disguise would be.

Skunk.

xxx

Selenay shut and locked the hotel room door. Immediately two cockroaches ran out from a crack in the wall and hid under the bed. Selenay had to try hard to suppress a squeal. She _hated_ those things. Unfortunately, when her coins added up, she couldn't afford a four-star, dyes, good binoculars and still have money for eating. Anyway, she was more likely to be recognized at a nice hotel. At this seedy little joint, she was sure the innkeeper did some things on the side. She'd distinctly smelled marijuana when she'd walked up to her room. However, that was not important at the moment, as long as she didn't become affected by the fumes at all.

She ran the bath, using only the cold water tap. The black dye was a cold set, naturally. It was also permanent; the salon informed her that none of the temporary dyes really went to black, it was more of a dark gray that would be perfectly fine for Halloween or a one-day thing. So she'd be with this disguise for a while, which didn't seem too bad, at the moment.

She poured the dye into the tub as it filled. The water swirled and turned inky black. She hoped that the dye didn't stain the tub. She didn't particularly want to be in trouble for that and have to pay the inn for it. It wouldn't be much of a strain on _her_ pocket, but she always felt that pickpocketing was just begging to be caught in the most obvious way possible.

Selenay stripped down and, taking a deep breath, got into the tub. As soon as the cold reached her, she cursed every scientist who ever helped make this invention, and every temporary dye creator she could think of. She held her breath and closed her eyes and dunked her head underwater. _One Churchill, two Churchill, three Churchill…_ After thirty seconds, she had to take another breath, then quickly went under again. The dye took five minutes to work. She was sure she'd catch pneumonia by then, but she stuck through it.

Bleaching was slightly harder, but not too bad, except when it got to the part of her back that her arms didn't reach. The bleach gel was working perfectly fine, and it was quick, too. Selenay drained the tub and used the shower head to wash out the remaining dye, and then looked in the mirror.

"Not too shabby," she decided, twisting to see how it looked from the back. "Not bad at all."

xxx

Selenay found pickpocketing to be very difficult during the next few days. It didn't matter much, but she was unused to how quickly people would move away with a worried look on their face. As if _she_ was going to spray them!

Actually, there were a few times when she wished she could skunk-bomb people. At the grocery store, she noticed, the cashiers found something they absolutely had to do when she came up to pay. Discriminatory twits! Yet, at least they weren't suspicious of her at all; they were just annoyed that they had to deal with her. In return, her attitude became colder and sarcastically polite to them.

This made breaking into the police office much easier, though. In fact, she could hardly call it breaking in. She walked in during the lunch hour, asked to see Constable Rodolfo Berger, and the lizard at the front desk (who had a terrible lisp) quickly led her to his office, informed her that he wouldn't be back for another five minutes, and hurried away. An ideal situation.

It occurred to her that it was probable that she would find nothing of importance to this case. She'd taken no time to really let any leads develop, and it was possible that the police had no clue anyway; they were usually highly inept at clue-finding and witness-gathering. Still, five minutes to check. She got behind Rodolfo's desk and started shuffling papers, making sure to put every single one exactly where it had been when she was done with it. Nothing. She wondered if he'd changed his email password…

Bingo. She would have to remind him to change his passwords every six months next time she saw him. But here it was. An email with the suspects' names and faces. Excellent. She marked the email as unread again, to cover her tracks. There was talking outside of the door. She logged out and returned the computer to its original state. The door opened…

Draco Granger came in. He noticed her instantly. "Er, hello. Can I help you?"

"Well sir, I just came in to give Constable Berger a personal thank you for all he's been doing to serve justice in this world. However, he doesn't seem to be here at the moment, probably because he's off serving justice to the world. Would you mind, terribly much, giving my thanks to him? I'm terribly late for a meeting."

"Uh…sure."

"Thank you so much!" She ecstatically hurried out of the room, grinning wider as Draco leapt four feet back to keep from being run over. The game Rudolf, was—

_Smack!_ Selenay slammed right into Rodolfo and stumbled backwards. "Terribly sorry! Terribly, terribly sorry. I just—" She looked up at him, "Thank you so much for all the service you do to the world. Terribly sorry!" She scrambled away, Rodolfo still staring blankly after her.


End file.
